Scotland: St. Andrews and Edinburgh, or: The Land of Haggis

It only took me one subway, two airplanes, two buses, one train, and a 15 minute walk with my big ass suitcase to get into the tiny town of St Andrews where Gwen lives, but I made it!

The first night I finally met Gwen's beau Paul, a charming science nerd, and we went- where else? To the pub! It was fun to see my ole chum's stomping grounds and it was really nice to be in a country where the people speak English and where I had someone who really knew the area to be my tour guide!

Since St. Andrews is super tiny, we really only needed one day for Gwen to give me the Gran Tour.She took me to these beautiful ruins right on the beachWe also really lucked out because it actually WASN'T overcast- a rare thing in Scotland! Don't let the blue sky fool you though, we were right on the North Sea and it was FREEZING.
The ruins of the old castle on the beach. So much stuff is destroyed from the reformation, but it's still so pretty, and Scotland is really into preserving their gothic architecture.I'm so glad Gwen shares my appreciation for old cemeteries-this one was so beautiful and serene, too.Pretty English garden! Really, all there is to do in St. Andrews besides hit the pubs is wander around and marvel at its charming-ness.
To all you golf fans out there! I have graced the famous Old Course. Be jealous. I don't know why this course is so awesome, it must be hard to golf there because it's so damn windy!

There's also several local kilt suppliers, and I decided I absolutely NEED a sporran! They're the little man-pouch-purse thingies that men wear on their kilts.Cute little fox sporran! Fun Fact: They're so expensive because they're not aloud to kill the animal for use of sporran-making. Hence, why I don't own one :(
Gwen, modeling haggis pizza. Ew! We didn't eat it.

Next day, we took the train to Edinburgh! I was acutally bowled over by how beautiful Edinburgh is- there's no modern buildings or anything really to spoil the mood. Everything is so OLD. I think Gwen was telling me the 'new' part of Edinburgh was built in the 1700's. I just think it's funny how anything in San Francisco that predates the earthquake is considered old.This is the street our hostel was on-I love how it was on that crazy curve! Our first day in Edinburgh we walked down the Royal Mile in the morning and saw the castle and the palace.
The courtyard in the palace- the queen still stays here in the summer
The ruins of the abbey next to the palace
Amazingly massive and tasty jacket potatoes for lunch, yum! I'd been craving one of these since I knew I was going to Scotland!
Bagpipers! They're totally there for the tourists, and for that I was a very grateful tourist!

Then we climbed to the top of the Scot Monument, or Gothic Rocketship. Gwen told me so many of the buildings are black because of all the soot and coal that was in the air during the industrial revolution. Fun Fact!
I got kinda claustrophobic by the time we finally got to the top og the monument (something like 300 steps), but we got some amazing views!The beautiful castle
A pretty hotel viewed from the monument

The Heart of Midlothian- for some reason it's tradition to spit on it, so I had to comply! It's right in front of the amazing St. Giles CathedralAgain-So cold I had to wear pants!
And Gwen, knowing I'm obsessed with vintage clothes, took me to this amazing store she knew about. They had some awesome stuff, but like most of the vintage I found overseas-EXPENSIVE.
Then we saw this statue of this little doggie, Greyfriars Bobby. The story is so cute and sad! When the dogs' master died, the dog was so sad he stayed by his masters' grave for 14 years, until the dog himself died! Awwww. So they built this little statue for the dog.
And of course, what trip to Scotland would be complete without a trip to the coffee shop where Harry Potter was first conceived! I guess J.K. Rowling used to live above the coffee shop and would come down and write her ideas here.

Whew! Scotland was so beautiful, way prettier than I even expected it to be, and I'm glad I had an official tour guide. However, the real madness doesn't start until the next day, when we headed for Italy, with only a pathetic understanding of the language and a map to guide us, so check back now, ya hear?

Backlog Blog, or 'Backblog'- Finally!

I'm pleased to say my fear of being bored upon my return to the states was in vain- between catching up with friends and family, starting a new job, vamping up my apartment, and stuffing my face with the amazingly delicious diverse food of San Francisco, I've been busy!

I moved back into my lovely apartment in the Mission district, and the lovely Laura that I sublet my humble abode to in my absence not only managed to keep all my plants alive, but also left an awesome Brady Bunch-esque couch! Excellent.

Also, despite everyone's panic about the economy, I got a great new job at a super chic salon in Union Square. So I've been settling into the 'new job' thang, AND! Of course I've already seen Star Trek (twice. Shut up.) and on opening night my fella took me for a get pumped food-and-fun-fest at Benihana before we saw the film at the Kabuki!(I think you call them "films" if you see them at the Kabuki). Overall I approve of the flick, and enjoyed it, although I did have a few minor complaints that I won't voice in too much detail for fear of spoiling it for not AS adamant trekkies, But seriously? The Romulans did not look like Romulans. But playing devil's advocate, it's not the first time the franchise has changed the appearance of an alien species (i.e., Klingons).

But I digress! Back to my European adventures!

First we're going to go back- way back- to the last weekend in March. My last week in Madrid and the week my Mom came to visit.

On Saturday we went to the really cute little town of Segovia, only an hour bus ride outside of Madrid.
It's on of the oldest aquaducts in Europe. Fun Fact- made without a drop of mortar.
The aquaduct is right next to the old historic part of town, and you can catch glimpses of it though the narrow streets.

Also in Segovia is (of course) a beautiful cathedral!
Unfortunately the pictures I took inside came out like crap, but I loved that this was in the Gothic style, but a really pretty Mediterranean color, not that cold, drafty, Quasi Modo gray vibe, you know?

It was a beautiful warm sunny day so we enjoyed walking around looking at the cherry blossoms and other people visiting the town.

Vegetarians beware! Segovia is known for its cochinillo, or suckling pig. Once again, Thomas' theory is proven correct:The cuter, the tastier! Yes, we ate it. And it was amazing. My mom's even still had its little bitty hoof on it, but she managed to choke it down alright. Ha!

Next! We went to the castle. Fun Fact- The castle in Segovia is the one Walt Disney based the Princess castle off of in Disneyland! So cute!The inside had lots or Moorish touches that reminded me of Morocco, and we climbed the tower and got some amazing views of Segovia and the cathedral.

The next day, Sunday, was a super busy day for us! We woke up early and went to mass in Spanish-it's still really easy to follow, because you just stand and sit when everyone else does, and if you can't say all the prayers and stuff in Spanish you just use a trick my mom taught me- say "rudebegga rudebegga rudebegga" over and over again, and it looks like you are following along flawlessly, woo!

Then we sifted through the antique books and nicknacks in the Rastro (giant flea market), and in the afternoon we went . . . .dun dun dun: BULLFIGHT! Molly and Summer and two of Summer's friends that were visiting came. It's not something I would ordinarily want to check out, but you know, when in Rome. . . or Madrid, whatever.Before the bloodshed! What we didn't realize is that they kill SIX bulls, not one. It's pretty brutal.

Other Matador Fun Facts- the matadors were really young- they ranged in age from 19 to the ripe old age of 25.
Fun Fact-Bullfighting is not that lucrative, and the matador is responsible for his own costume (or is it a uniform? Whatever.) and for paying out his matador team.
Fun Fact- there are circles and markings in the ring that are highly technical and significant, and what the matador does where is very detailed and important. How? I have no idea.
It's not something I would ever do again, but I'm really glad I went. It is a big part of Spanish culture, although lots of Spaniards today don't like bullfighting. And my host mom, a big fan of bullfighting, is right- it is beautiful and like an art form, and you can tell it hasn't changed in several hundred years. And on a more vulgar note- the matadors are HOT. It's so manly, and all that glittering, butt-hugging spandex? YES.
These guys are called picadors, and they stab the bull while on horseback. One of the horse fell over at one point, it was really scary. They also blindfold the horses and plug their ears so they don't spook.Right before they kill the bull. Sometimes you think the bull will win, but it ended matadors 6, bulls 0. :(

After the bullfight my mom came home with me to meet my host family and have dinner with us. It was really funny because my mom's Spanish is pretty minimal and Carmen doesn't speak any English, so I had to do a lot of translating, but it's funny- there was a definite universal mom-bond going on!

My last week in Madrid was pretty busy what with my mom visiting and it was my last week of school and finals, and blah blah blah, AND I had to pack and say good bye to my host family, which was really hard! Now that I've been home for a month I really miss them, and Spain. I miss watching movies in Spanish with Carmen, and her cooking me dinner and telling me about Esteban's fencing, and the challenge of speaking in Spanish everyday.

But, I had to move forward! Next on the itinerary: visiting Gwen and her man Paul in Scotland!